Margaret Feeny

Born
Margaret Mary Feeny

1917
Died3 January 2012(2012-01-03) (aged 94–95)
Known forFounder and first director of the Africa Centre, London

Margaret Mary Feeny MBE (1917 – 3 January 2012) was the founder and first director of London's Africa Centre charity, from 1963 to 1978.[1]

Biography

Margaret Feeny was born in 1917, the eleventh of twelve children of a businessman.[2]

Feeny was General Secretary of the Sword of the Spirit, which became the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR),[3] and then Progressio.[4] She conceptualized the Africa Centre, London, and organised support from both Africans and Britons to bring the idea to fruition.[5] The Africa Centre was registered as a charity in 1961, and in 1964 opened to the public at 38 King Street, Covent Garden,[6][7] with Feeny as its first director. She remained in that role from 1963 until 1978.[1]

In 1975, she moved to Bath, Somerset. She became a Social Democratic Party then Liberal Democrat councillor in 1994, and Mayor of Bath in 1996, but had a stroke while on official business to their twin town of Aix-en-Provence.[8] She died in early 2012 aged 94 and her funeral took place at St John's Church, South Parade, Bath, on 18 January.

References

  1. 1 2 Trustees of the Africa Centre (18 January 2012). "The Africa Centre — Margaret Feeny MBE". Ftp.africacentre.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. Tom Craigmyle. "Margaret Mary Feeny, MBE (1917–2012)" (PDF). Progressio.org.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. From Sword to Ploughshare. Sword of the Spirit to Catholic Institute for International Relations 1940–1980 by Michael Walsh
  4. "Tribute to Margaret Feeny". Progressio.org.uk. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  5. "About Us | Our Story". London: The Africa Centre. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  6. "London's Africa Centre – a glorious history". New African. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  7. Arboine, Niellah (27 September 2022). "The Return of the Africa Centre in London". Contemporary And (C&). Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  8. "Former mayor was a strong character". Bath Chronicle. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2016.

Images of Margaret Feeney: "Margaret Feeney, 2 February 1983"; "Margaret Feeney outside the Guildhall, Bath 1996?", Bath In Time (online images).

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